EFFECTIVE INTERNAL CONTROL FOR CREDIT UNIONS IN TAKORADI

ABSTRACT The purpose of the study was to assess the effectiveness of internal controls in credit unions in Takoradi. The study used cross-sectional descriptive survey. It was conducted in Takoradi for the staff/workers, management and the clients of Shama Co-operative Credit Union and Work place credit union. Simple random was employed to select 102 workers each from the various credit unions, however, purposive sampling was used to select 2 management officials each from various credit unions to form part of the study, thus, 208 respondents in all. Questionnaire and structured interviews were the main data collection instruments. The questionnaires were analyzed and interpreted using descriptive statistics such as frequency and percentages, however, the recordings of the interviews were transcribed verbatim, organised, presented in themes based on the research objectives. It was found out that respondents were negligence on the one responsible for setting up the internal control system in the credit unions. Also, there was no procurement policy and procurement committee in the credit unions in the metropolis. However, the major challenges in the implementation of internal controls in the various credit unions include; resistance to change, human factor and lack of independence, inadequate resources and wrongful application of findings by management of credit unions. On the other hand, possible solutions for sound and effective implementation of internal controls included; adequate training on internal controls for workers and management, effective monitoring and evaluations intermittently and given out operational policies and manuals to members in order to ensure effective implementation of internal controls.